Newsletter of the London Curling Club November 2014 ‘Undergrad’ Lindsay’s journey to Brier dream “Professor Howard and undergrad Lindsay face off today,” announced a headline in the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal during the 2003 Brier in Halifax. Tim Lindsay, now skip of the LCC men’s club champion rink, had realized his dream of making it to the Brier. Chronicle Journal reporter John Nagy set the stage for Tim’s reunion with old friend, mentor and teammate Russ Howard as opponents on curling’s biggest stage by interviewing Howard about his protégé. Lindsay was playing lead for skip Scott Henderson’s Fort William Curling Club rink from Thunder Bay that was representing Northern Ontario at the Brier. “It felt like a dream and I was on a journey to a dream. I think it’s everybody’s dream growing up,” says Lindsay, who wishes every curler could live that dream. He awoke from the dream quickly in the Hot Shots competition, where he scored “very high in all the shots” in the practice round. His first shot in the round that counted called for a “hit and stick” on the button. “The announcer comes over the PA and states your name, where you’re from. This was my first experience being in the hack in a large stadium. I threw a perfect freeze instead of a hit and stick. Russ Howard joked ‘Hey Tim, I can throw harder than that.’ It was total muscle memory because the previous shot (in practice) was a freeze. I made the perfect freeze but it was the wrong shot. Your muscle memory is there but your head might not be. That is the Brier, you have to get through all that.” Henderson’s rink, which also included third Art Lappalainen, second Mike Desilets and Rick Lang as fifth and coach, also had to adjust to the Halifax ice, which was “12 feet faster than any other ice in Northern Ontario we had played on all year.” Employed by Hydro One, Lindsay’s job involves moving to various locations in Ontario, TIM LINDSAY including Penetanguishene from 1986 to 1994. He served as president of the Penetanguishene Curling Club for three years. It was there he would meet Russ and Glenn Howard, as well as their father, Bill Howard, who was the ice maker. They became close friends and Russ served as an usher when Tim and his wife, Denise, were married. Lindsay also was the second and only non-Howard on the club’s most daunting team that featured Russ, Glenn and Bill at skip, third and lead, respectively. They played in a men’s competitive league at their club. Tim also played on a mixed team that included Russ and his wife, Wendy Howard. “Russ hollers a little bit,” Lindsay quipped. “He liked a good sweeper out there and I tried to do my best. We did fairly well.” Bill Howard, who is now deceased, taught both Russ and Glenn the game, while Lindsay, in turn, benefited from Russ’s vast knowledge of curling. “He’s a student of the game and he can make you throw in the 90s (per cent). He is one of those skips who can take anybody and really improve them both from his skipping ability and his coaching ability. I coached with Russ for years. We led the coaching clinics for probably six years in a row. We were the fastest growing club in Canada.” The Howards were also innovators. Bill Howard was one of the first, if not the first, to install a quarter-inch Teflon slider on a curling shoe. He believed they were more consistent for draw weight and, given their thickness, a scrape on the bottom of the slider would not affect it. Lindsay followed up by drilling a hole in a quarter-inch slider so there would be less surface area to cause resistance to the ice and also to create better balance. Tim was a member of Barrie Curling Club at the time and he showed Balance Plus owner Scott Taylor what he did to his slider. Taylor found an engineer to make a design and now sliders with circular depressions in the Teflon are common. See TIM LINDSAY Page 2 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 President’s Curling’s answer Busy schedule Tankard may Column to bobsled movie for WDS boost LCC funds ROCK TALK – November 2014 Page 2 Safety gear, awareness of accident response critical This is the time of the year that the president reiterates the importance of wearing the correct gear to prevent accidents, as well as familiarizing yourself with safety procedures at the club. Grippers are important obviously to stop you from slipping and an old gripper has much less grip and sheds pieces of rubber on the ice. It is recommended that you change it once a year. The Pro Shoppe still offers a $5 rebate on your old gripper when you trade it in for a new one. Head protection is becoming much more common and is now available in many forms. Bike helmets, skateboarding helmets and ski helmets all work well. New this year, the Pro Shoppe is offering a ball hat with a special padded area in the back, as well as halos. Be sure to check them out. If there's an accident on the ice and an ambulance is required the best way to get the stretcher in is through the emergency door on the southwest corner of the arena. If this should happen, someone should place themselves at that door to direct the EMTs. Inside, to the left of the bar in the lounge area, there is a first-aid kit, as well as a defibrillator. In the case of fire there are four exits in the building – the main front door, the door to the parking lot, the door on the northwest corner of the building as well as the emergency exit mentioned above. Please make yourself familiar with all of this so you will be prepared. The club had a successful open house in mid-September and has already conducted three clinics, one for novices followed by one for intermediates on Oct. 4 and a clinic on strategy on Oct. 25. Again, the many volunteers from the organizers to the coaches make them work. Many thanks to all those involved. These clinics are all part of your membership. All we ask is that you sign up ahead of time as there is a limited number spots and then show up on the date. The advertising committee, chaired by Don Agnew, is again looking for a couple of volunteers to join it. The committee is responsible for bringing in more than $10,000 to the club, which reflects directly on your yearly fees. If interested please contact Don. Membership at the LCC is down a little this year. The exact numbers are not yet clear as people are still signing up but many leagues are down a team or two and in some cases more. We still have a very active and vibrant club but I want to ask all our members to promote the club whenever and wherever they can. The learn to curl league accepts new players all season with no cost introductory sessions and our Pro-Shoppe has special introductory packages for all players. John Crosby, LCC President TIM LINDSAY: Dream realized with family support, Howard’s tips Curling is a family sport with the Lindsays. Their son, Matthew, 18, curls on Sunday afternoons and spares for his father in the Miller league. When Matthew was three months old, Bill Howard made him a pair of curling shoes. “He put the slider on the right foot.” It was a good guess because Matthew is left-handed. Their daughter, Kayla, 15, was skipping in an adult mixed league when she was seven, but now prefers to play hockey. Family is also important for competitive players who must play long schedules to realize their dream. “My wife is my greatest supporter,” says Tim. “If you don’t have a family that is 100 per cent committed it won’t work.” When the 2003 Brier ended and Tim and his teammates finished with a 5-6 record, Denise Lindsay was there to compile a huge loose-leaf binder recording the event, complete with photos, stories and memorabilia. It included the story about “Professor Howard and undergrad Lindsay.” It was a fitting link of Tim Lindsay and the ultimate curling mentor who helped him on his “journey to a dream.” Burt Dowsett Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of profiles of LCC members. BOARD OF DIRECTORS CLUB STAFF WEBSITE Eric Duggan EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Club Manager Doug Petch www.londoncurling.ca President John Crosby [email protected] [email protected] Vice President Paul Pergau Past President Gord Sellery Office Manager Barb Colbourn ROCK TALK Burt Dowsett Treasurer Dave Peeling Head Ice Technician Kevin Breivik (519) 641-4948 1847 2014 Secretary Fay Weiler Ice Assistants Mark Phillips [email protected] Property Maint./Planning Dave Weber Scott Breivik [email protected] Derek Shadlock PORTFOLIO DIRECTORS Jason Laroque Issue Deadlines October 27 LONDON CURLING CLUB Advertising Don Agnew Stan Smith November 24 377 Lyle Street Leagues & OCA Bruce Thom Bruce Thom December 18 London, Ontario N5W 3RS Promotion Marjorie Dudley Bar Coordinator Les Sonier January 26 Member Services Roger Moyer Telephone (519) 432-3882 Bar Staff Billie Campbell February 23 Skills & Development Pat Boothe Email: [email protected] Katie McNaught Pro Shoppe Richard Rodgers Website: www.londoncurling.ca Housekeeper Kim Elsdon ROCK TALK – November 2014 Page 3 Israeli curlers next Jamaican bobsled phenomenon? A film crew envisioning a curling version of a movie about the Jamaican bobsled team was the last thing Warren Brooke expected when he agreed to help select a fledging Israeli curling team in May.